It might seem obvious, but being both an Orthodox Jew and an international reggae star isn’t always easy. Just ask Matisyahu, a religious, Bob Marley-inspired musician who enjoys wearing his tzitzit as much as his American Apparel sweatshirts.
“It’s tough,” says the Brooklyn-based artist whose real name is Matthew Paul Miller. “There’s always that line you cross back and forth between creativity and religion. It’s a give and take. The challenges are always there, but, for myself, I’ve seen growth.”
It took a while for Matisyahu to get where he is today, however. When he hit the road in 2006 to promote his incredibly popular sophomore album Youth, some people took issue with his shtick.
“When I started, the thought of coming across in a negative way didn’t enter my mind,” he says. “I was just excited by my newfound religion – it was new to me then – and I thought, everyone’s going to understand where I’m coming from. That wasn’t the case. For a lot of people, it was too much to get.
“Looking back, there have been certain advantages and obstacles with my religion.”
While the singer doesn’t delve further into what exactly those obstacles were, it’s clear that whatever was standing in his way is gone. His new album, Light, is a sharper, more focused collection than his previous album. He veers away from some of Youth’s straight-up reggae, delving into rock, rap, electronica and lighter jam band sounds instead.
Matisyahu says the new sounds came out of the music he’s been listening to over the last few years – in other words, he’s put the reggae CDs away.
“I had been listening to reggae all the time, so it had an influence on my style,” he says. “The last couple of years was more about a broad array of sounds and not getting obsessive over one artist or style.”
Another change is that his new disc isn’t as explicitly religious as Youth – there’s nary a mention of HaShem or Torah on the album. But that doesn’t mean his Judaism didn’t influence the messages on this record.
“I’ll take a story or prayer from the chassidic philosophy,” he says. “I’ll find something that gets me going and think about how that resonates in me and try to write from an intuitive place.
“This album is a bit more moody,” he adds. “It’s more up and down and more personal, with a different level of depth to it from what I’ve done in the past.”
The more introspective lyrics, Matisyahu explains, were a result of the time he had taken off after he stopped touring Youth. He had been on the road for a couple of years, and going back home helped him reconnect with his surroundings.
“I wrote and recorded the disc at home, which forced me to get back in touch with myself,” he says. “There was more time for me to go inside and get back to myself, figure out what’s going on and how to relate to everything.”
Writing at home post-tour meant there were three years between albums. It’s a time frame Matisyahu doesn’t want to repeat.
“I’ll try to not wait so long before I get started with the next record,” he says. “I think now I have a sense of how to get these things done better. There was a learning curve, but I’ve figured it out.”